The art of 3D representation was brought to light when the English scientist Charles Wheatstone created drawings that demonstrated depth perception using his invention, the stereoscope.

But trying to come up with a beautiful drawing while balancing a stethoscope and meter rule in one hand and a protractor in the other can be a lot of work; not to mention difficult. But never fear! Modernization has led to the search for an easier method of drawing where art could be made with freehand and a single stroke.

So basically, a 3D painting is called an anamorphosis, which can be represented on a canvas as small as paper or as large as a street. It is a distorted projection or drawing which appears three dimensional when viewed from a particular point.

Step one – Visualize how you want your painting to look. An artist always has an image of the image he wants to portray. Knowing how you want your art to come out, will help you prep properly for it.

Step two – Prepare your template

You could make your template, by drawing a bunch of rows and columns, that would guide you as you draw your object of perspective. Alternatively, you 4could buy a ready-made drawing template. You could get one with regular squares and one in perspective.

Step three – Draw your object

With your pencil, sketch the template with perspective, avoiding going out of the squares.
Step three – Copy the plain template on a piece of paper. Feel free to add extra squares, or to make them bigger, if you’re making a larger drawing.

Step four – Using the drawing pencil, copy the original sketch onto the new template, using the letters, numbers, and positions of the sketch on the old template, as a guide.

Step five – Erase excess lines

When you have the form for your drawing, you can erase all the template lines so painting can begin

Step six – Colour it in

One of the best things to use for a 3D painting is watercolors because they produce a deeply realistic painting effect. Pay attention to the way you shade as well. Proper shading is what gives life to a 3D painting. Locate your lighting source and blend the shaded areas with watercolor pencils.